Mass Email for Communications Policy

Mass e-mail is used to send important information to various areas on the campus via listserv dissemination. This policy provides the guidelines and procedures for distributing mass e-mail communications to the campus community.

University administrator/officer: A person with responsibility for issues having broad-based policy implications for students, faculty, and staff in the college/unit; a Dean, Director or similar position.

Authorized Posting Agent: A person who has been approved by the President’s Cabinet to distribute information to the university’s official listservs.

Electronic Communications: The use of computers and network systems in the communicating or posting of information or material by way of electronic mail, bulletin boards, or other such electronic tools.

University Computers and Network Systems (University Systems): Computers, networks, servers, and other similar devices that are administered by the University and for which the University is responsible. Throughout this policy, the shortened term “university systems” is used to mean all University computers and network systems.

The University maintains six (6) official listservs, each targeted to different campus constituencies.

Membership on these lists is determined by departmental position and is assigned at the time of employment or position change by the Director of Human Resources. Individuals are not allowed to unsubscribe from these lists.

• Acadinfo: Information for all academic offices
  • Members:  Executive Officers, Deans, Academic Department Heads, Faculty, Adjunct Faculty
• Admininfo: Information for all administrative offices
  • Members:  Executive Officers, Deans, Administrative Department heads, Academic Department Heads
• StaffInfo: Information relevant to all staff
  • Members:  Executive Officers, Deans, Administrative Department Heads, Academic Department Heads, Staff members
• Okramail-FYI:  Information relevant to all students
  • Members: All students holding an Okramail e-mail address
• Retiree-FYI: Information relevant to DSU retirees
  • Members:  All retirees with a “username@retiree.deltastate.edu” email address and retirees who are added to the distribution group by the Coordinator of the Dedicated Statesmen Association.
• DSU-FYI: Information relevant to all members of the DSU community and to the media
  • Members:  All campus constituents and community and media entities (who are added to the distribution group by the Vice President for University Relations and External Relations as appropriate)

Only Authorized Posting Agents may distribute information to the respective listservs. Authorized Posting Agents are determined by position at the University and relevance to the listserv. Requests to modify the list of Authorized Posting Agents should be submitted to the Director of Human Resources, and will be considered for approval by the President’s Cabinet.

The appropriate Authorized Posting Agent will determine whether an e-mail should be distributed to the respective listserv based on the criteria outlined in this policy. Multiple communication methods are recommended as the University cannot guaranty when or if individuals will read the e-mail correspondence. Emergency communications, urgent communications, and critical communications are handled directly by the Chief of Police or key executive offices.

The use of the Active Directory Global Address List to distribute mass e-mail communications to the campus is prohibited. All mass e-mail communications must follow the procedures and guidelines set forth within this policy.

E-mail Message Requirements

1. E-mail Subject: The Subject line must be descriptive.
2. E-mail Body:
   • The name, e-mail address, and phone number of a person to contact should be contained in the message.
   • Attachments are discouraged.
   • Messages should not exceed 500K.
   • Messages should be brief and to the point and contain instructions on how to obtain additional information.
   • Any hyperlinks should include the fully qualified (include the http:// part protocol to assure that recipients see the “active” link(s) in the message.
   • The message should be proofread for spelling, grammatical and content errors prior to distribution.
   • The message must be approved by the department head of the individual sending the request.

Guidelines

The content of mass e-mail communications should fall within the appropriate topics and must not violate other policies of the University.

Appropriate topic examples:

• Campus-wide policy changes
• Administrative information that is time-sensitive
• Deadline information for University processes/events
• Emergency communications

Inappropriate topic examples:

• Information items or announcements (workshops, events, fundraisers, etc.)
• Commercial announcements or invitations
• Solicitations
• Personal messages
• Messages that violate University Policies

Individuals sending e-mail communications should take into consideration that it may take several hours for the computer system to distribute electronically the e-mail communications.

The ability to post to University listservs is a privilege. The University may restrict or remove an individual’s ability to post to listservs, with or without notice, if it is determined that the individual or the information is in violation of this policy or other University policies.

Responsible Office and/or Policy Owner: Vice President for External Affairs and Chief of Staff

• Authorized Posting Agents listing
• Student E-mail Policy
• Faculty and Staff Appropriate Use Statement

Active

• Cabinet Approval: 06/22/2015
• Cabinet Approval:  03/12/2018